Resignation accepted

TAIPEI: Taiwan on Saturday accepted the resignation of foreign minister Eugene Chien, who stepped down after a top US envoy quit her post amid a row over US policy toward China and the island. “The premier respects his will after failing to change his mind,” cabinet spokesman Lin Chia-lung said. Chien’s resignation followed that of Therese Shaheen, head of the de facto US diplomatic mission to Taiwan, who quit earlier this week after voicing her support for Chen’s re-election before the White House had issued an official statement. — AFP

Blasts in south Thailand

BANGKOK: Two bombs exploded in Muslim-majority southern Thailand, police said on Saturday, hours after the US, Britain and Australia issued warnings of possible terrorist attacks in the troubled region. No one was killed or hurt in the Friday night bombings, the first of which was planted in a garbage bin opposite a police station in Narathiwat province’s Waeng district and exploded at 6:45 pm, damaging a nearby restaurant. The second blast occurred nearly an hour later in Takbai district, near the Malaysian border, at the gate of an apartment complex housing police and customs officials. — AFP

Ritual costs magician life

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan magician killed himself during a black magic ritual to harness evil forces after he was overwhelmed by the spirits he had drunk, rather than those he was trying to cast spells on, a press report said on Saturday. The 71-year-old man had used his full force to dash a coconut on the ground as part of the ritual on behalf of a customer, but lost his balance and ended up hooked on the trident. The paper quoted the victim’s son as saying he had been drunk at the time. Doctors said he died due to excessive bleeding. — AFP

Pak landslide kills tourist

GILGIT: A Japanese tourist was killed and three fellow countrymen injured early

Saturday when a boulder hit their vehicle on a mountainous road in northern Pakistan, officials said. The incident occurred 30 km east of Gilgit, a popular area for climbing

expeditions. “One Japanese tourist, Kazama Yuichi, died on the spot while three others were injured,” Northern Area Chief Administrator Saeed Ahmed Khan said. A landslide caused by heavy rains overnight sent a boulder crashing down on the vehicle in Pari area. — AFP

Dutch copters under fire

KABUL: Two Dutch Apache helicopters deployed with Afghanistan’s NATO-led peacekeeping force came under attack near Kabul but suffered no damage, a spokeswoman said on Saturday. The AH-64D Apache helicopters were conducting a reconnaissance and training mission on Thursday when they were apparently fired on from the ground, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokeswoman Major Rita LePage said. “The aircrafts were not hit and there were no injuries,” she said. La Page said the crews decided against returning fire because of concerns about possible civilian casualties. — AFP

Weapons seized in Pak

KARACHI: Pakistani soldiers seized weapons allegedly belonging to a militant group planning a terrorist attack, including a rocket launcher and mortar shells, officials said on Saturday. The raid, late Friday, followed reports that an unidentified outlawed group had hidden weapons in a building under construction in this southern port city, said Col Zafar Cheema, spokesman for the rangers. No one was in the building when the soldiers entered, he said. — AP

Prez’s party in slim lead

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri’s Indonesian Democratic Party on Saturday maintained a slim lead over Golkar, the old party of former dictator Suharto, with nearly half the votes tallied from the April 5 general election. But with millions of votes still uncounted, the race is still wide open. — AFP